Apple Fined for Privacy Feature Impacting Fair Competition

Italy's antitrust authority has fined Apple 98.6 million euros for its privacy feature, App Tracking Transparency. The feature, aimed at enhancing user privacy by requiring permission before data collection, allegedly restricts competition in the App Store and disproportionately affects third-party developers and advertisers.

The Italian antitrust authority has imposed a fine of 98.6 million euros ($116 million) on Apple for alleged anti-competitive practices concerning one of its privacy features. This feature, known as App Tracking Transparency (ATT), has been criticized for restricting competition within the App Store marketplace.

Launched in April 2021, ATT requires applications to seek explicit permission from users before collecting data to create personalized advertisements. While the feature was introduced to enhance user privacy, critics claim it unduly disadvantages smaller apps reliant on advertising revenue.

The regulator has highlighted the policy's requirement for app developers to request consent twice—deeming it disproportionate—and detrimental to developers, advertisers, and advertising platforms. The decision echoes a similar ruling by French regulators, who fined Apple 150 million euros for the same reason.

(With inputs from agencies.)